med-mastodon.com is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
Medical community on Mastodon

Administered by:

Server stats:

363
active users

#behaviour

7 posts6 participants0 posts today
bioRxiv · Sleep promotes aversive value coding in DrosophilaSleep is a state of reduced behavioural responsiveness to the external world. Lowered arousal is thought to arise from sensory gating in the brain, yet there is compelling evidence that stimuli can still be processed to some degree. Which aspects of sensory information are processed during sleep remains largely unknown. Here, we perform comprehensive recordings of activity from multiple neuron types during sleep and wakefulness in the Drosophila olfactory association center. We find that baseline activity of dopamine neurons (DANs) is distinct between active, rest and sleep states, enabling a decoder to predict when the fly is asleep. Optogenetic inhibition of DANs acutely induces sleep and lowers odor-evoked arousal, suggesting causality between DAN activity and behavior. We then examine odor processing during sleep, and find that whereas coding of odor identity in Kenyon cells (KCs) remains intact, coding of odor value in DANs is altered. Specifically, DANs encoding positive (attractive) and negative (aversive) values change their odor responses in an opposing manner, producing more aversive odor representations during sleep. Consistent with these changes in neural activity, sleeping flies awoken by odors show reduced approach and increased avoidance behaviour. Taken together, our data reveal that the brain does not simply suppress the propagation of sensory signals during sleep; rather, it utilizes different cell types to retain or modify specific aspects of sensory information. The aversive odor evaluation in DANs may have ethological benefits as it suppresses the motivation to pursue attractive odors during sleep and primes defensive action when aroused by the scent of potential dangers. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, https://ror.org/00hhkn466, JP19F19718, JP18H02532, JP21H04789 International Human Frontier Science Program Organization RIKEN, https://ror.org/01sjwvz98 Japan Science and Technology Agency, https://ror.org/00097mb19, JP24028095 Toray (Japan), https://ror.org/029xh1r47, 23-6402 Kao Corporation (Japan), https://ror.org/016t1kc57 Asahi Corporation

📰 "Convolvulus pluricaulis mediates its pharmacological effects via sod1, rdl, glut1, GABA-B-R1 and CG6293 orthologs in Drosophila melanogaster"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20
#DrosophilaMelanogaster
#Drosophila #Metabolism #Behaviour #Adult

bioRxiv · Convolvulus pluricaulis mediates its pharmacological effects via sod1, rdl, glut1, GABA-B-R1 and CG6293 orthologs in Drosophila melanogasterConvolvulus pluricaulis, commonly known as Shankhpushpi, has been extensively used in the management of disorders of the nervous system, including depression and anxiety. The plant extract has also been demonstrated to function as an antioxidant. However, the molecular effectors underlying the beneficial effects of Shankpushpi are yet to be identified. In this study, we have utilized the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to identify the metabolic and molecular targets that mediate the beneficial effects of dietary Shankpushpi intake. Metabolomic analysis revealed changes in Ascorbic acid, glucose, and Adenosine monophosphate in the head tissue of fruit flies that were fed Shankpushpi for 20 days. Subsequent gene expression analysis revealed significant changes in expression of glut 1 (Glucose transporter 1), CG6293 (Ascorbate transporter), rdl (Resistant to dieldrin), GABA-B-R1 (GABA-B receptor subtype 1) and sod 1 (Superoxide dismutase 1) in the head tissue of adult flies that were exposed to different doses of Shankpushpi. Consistent with the expression data, knockdown of sod 1, glut1, GABA-B-R1, and CG6293 but not sod 2 abolished the Shankpushpi-mediated resistance to paraquat-induced oxidative stress. To uncover downstream effectors that are responsible for the antidepressant and anxiolytic effects of Shankpushpi, we examined the effects of dietary intake of Shankpushpi in a stress-induced model of depression. Administration of Shankpushpi during development alleviated depression-like behavior in Drosophila. Wild-type adult flies that were fed Shankpushpi accumulated high levels of Ascorbate in the head tissue, and knockdown of Ascorbate transporter abolished the antidepressant activity of Shankpushpi in the stress-induced model. Thus, indicating that Shankpushpi-induced antidepressant effects are associated with increased Ascorbate transport. Taken together, our analysis using Drosophila melanogaster as a model has uncovered five conserved downstream effectors responsible for the antioxidant activity and one conserved effector responsible for the antidepressant activity of Convolvulus pluricaulis. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance, https://ror.org/04reqzt68, IA/I(S)/17/1/503085]

I found this quite interesting... & maybe more than a little guilt-inducing.

maalvika.substack.com/p/being-

Best sentence IMO:

The brain can't tell the difference between productive preparation and elaborate procrastination.

Whoops...

Otoh, as a retired engineer, i could not read this without more than a little bit of my mind screeching "but, but, but..."

My alma mater, Olin College of Engineering, had a motto that rewired how I think about everything: "Do-Learn." Those two words contain a revolution. Not "learn-then-do," which implies you must earn permission to act. Not "think-then-execute," which suggests theory should precede practice. But the radical idea that doing is learning! That understanding emerges from your hands as much as your head, that wisdom lives in the conversation between intention and reality.

This philosophy saved me from my own perfectionism more times than I can count. When I wanted to learn cooking, I didn't read recipes endlessly; I burned onions and discovered how heat actually behaves. When I wanted to learn a language, I didn't memorize grammar rules; I stumbled through conversations with native speakers who corrected my mistakes in real time. When I wanted to learn how to monetize on YouTube, I didn't write elaborate content strategies; I started posting videos and let the brutal feedback teach me what actually resonated.

"Do-Learn" gave me permission to start before I was ready, fail early, fail often, to discover through making rather than thinking my way to readiness.

--> I never wish to cross a bridge [/ board a plane / enter a high-rise elevator, yada yada] built by tradespeople who never bothered first learning their craft, designed by an "engineer" who's not yet actually got around to learning any actual, well y'know, engineering! Ditto brain surgery, heart surgery, et al.

learning-loving & meaning-making · being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotageBy Maalvika

📰 "A single NPFR neuropeptide F receptor neuron that regulates thirst behaviors in Drosophila"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20
#InternalState
#Drosophila #Behaviour

bioRxiv · A single NPFR neuropeptide F receptor neuron that regulates thirst behaviors in DrosophilaThirst is a strongly motivated internal state that is represented in central brain circuits that are only partially understood. Water seeking is a discrete step of the thirst behavioral sequence that is amenable to uncovering the mechanisms for motivational properties such as goal-oriented behavior, value encoding, and behavioral competition. In Drosophila water seeking is regulated by the NPY-like neuropeptide NPF, however the circuitry for NPF-dependent water seeking is unknown. To uncover the downstream circuitry, we identified the NPF receptor NPFR and the neurons it is expressed in as being acutely critical for thirsty water seeking. Refinement of the NPFR pattern uncovered a role for a single neuron, the L1-l, in promoting thirsty water seeking. The L1-l neuron increases its activity in thirsty flies and is involved in the regulation of dopaminergic neurons in long-term memory formation. Thus, NPFR and its ligand NPF, already known for its role in feeding behavior, are also important for a second ingestive behavior. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. University of California, Merced, https://ror.org/00d9ah105, Startup funds

Notre discussion avec Florian Moullard sur la #conscience animale, guidée par le journaliste Fabien Trécourt, est désormais disponible en podcast!
On y a parlé du jeu des poulpes🐙, des collaborations entre loups et corbeaux🐺 🐦‍⬛et - évidemment - de ce que ça fait d'être une chauve-souris 🦇!
#animalcognition #animal #animalculture #behaviour #philbio #podcast

smartlink.ausha.co/soirees-phi

The Mind of a Bee: An Exploration of the Intelligence of Bees. A talk with bee researcher Lars Chittka (via himself on 🦋 ): biologicalrecording.co.uk/2025 "He shows that they are profoundly smart, have distinct personalities, can recognize flowers and human faces, exhibit basic emotions, count, use simple tools, solve problems, and learn by observing others. They may even possess consciousness."

Biological Recording · The Mind of a Bee: An Exploration of the Intelligence of BeesDelve into the mind of a bee with Prof Lars Chittka (Queen Mary College of the University of London) and explore how bee brains are unparalleled in the animal kingdom.

Colluding Rhino Poachers Exploit Space–Time Variation In Opportunity And Risk
--
doi.org/10.1111/conl.13106 <-- shared paper
--
“[R]esearch analysing over 500 rhino poaching incidents and exploring what these patterns reveal about the behaviours of poachers, rangers, and rhinos. [Their] study highlights concerning evidence of criminal syndicate infiltration, space–time targeting by poachers, and how behavioural insights can inform effective responses—from targeted dehorning to bolstering ranger resilience…”
#GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #wildlifeconservation #wildlife #conservation #statistics #geostatistics #rhino #rhinohorn #rhinoceros #poaching #rangers #criminal #syndicate #mafia #criminalsyndicate #activity #crime #illegal #behaviour #dehorning #rangerstation #protection #humanimpacts #ecosystem #habitat #deterrencetheory #deterrence #methodology #tourist #tourism #reserve #spatiotemporal #opportunity #risk #hazard #riskassessment #Africa #SouthAfrica #alldataisspatial
@Sabi Sand Nature Reserve